40X I Can't Bribe Them Enough to Not Tell
by desy
Summary: CHAPTER 2 is up! Set after 3.13/4.02 & my stories 4.03: They finally have found Two's daughter and the girl's birthday is just ahead. To have time for birthday-shopping, Two sends Three with Five and her daughter grocery-shopping at their next space-station-stop. What can go possibly wrong with this plan?
1. Chapter 1

**4.0X - I can't bribe them enough to not tell**

Spoilers: Season 1-3 & Joseph Mallozzi's Virtual Season 4.01 & 4.02 (look onto his website/blog to read how season 3's cliffhanger ends).

Disclaimer: Dark Matter belongs to Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie. Not making money here.

Summary: They finally have found Two's daughter and the girl's birthday is just ahead. To have time for birthday-shopping, Two sends Three with Five and her daughter grocery-shopping at their next space-station-stop. What can go possibly wrong with this plan?

Sarah is not in the picture anymore (I'll explain this in one of my other stories, as well as I'll fix the numbers in the story title with exchanging the X). You just have to know that Two and Three are a couple for some time now – already were before they eventually found Kryden and little Irena.

As to why I named Two's daughter Irena: Well, Rebecca was so desperate to keep some part of her lover alive that I can't see a more fitting name for their baby-girl. (Btw: Carina is the name of Five's sister which was revealed at the "next episode" on 4.02's end and not Two's daughter – that's what I first thought after rewatching 3.04.)

I know that it is a bit disturbing at first that I write their names/numbers in capitals, but that's the way Mr. Mallozzi did at 4.01 and 4.02 on his blog. Just being canon here.

A/N: One of my favorite episodes is 2.11, the one where FIVE is kidnapped and THREE is on his own to safe her.

English is not my native tongue. Constructive criticism/correction is welcomed.

This story takes place after my others:

4.03 Don't be so sure of what you have

4.0X I Wish I Could Take Your Pain Away

X – X – X – X – X

Chapter 1

The day after tomorrow would be the day she had missed already three times. More than three years. The entire life of the little sunshine she could finally call her daughter. She wouldn't miss any more of those special days and any other day of her little girl's life if she could help it. The day after tomorrow would be perfect.

As she waited in front of the airlock for everyone else to arrive, TWO went over the shopping list one last time and added behind 'cake' the words 'raspberry flavor'. They had figured quite fast that the girl loved this taste even more than chocolate, closely followed by blueberry, but with those they had the hunch it was more the blue coloring of her tongue and fingers afterwards than the taste itself. Maybe they could even get their hands on real raspberries and not only this synthetic stuff.

"Hey." Greeted FIVE and THREE as they arrived as the first ones and TWO looked up from the small tablet.

"You two ready?"

THREE grinned widely and nodded. "We just went through it again." His gaze settled onto the girl, encouraging her to show off his teachings. "What do you do…"

The teenager rolled her eyes in response, but complied. "I know. I know… If some guy steals my bag again I won't take off after him alone, but go get you."

"Exactly." His smile widened. So far this new rule sounded surprisingly sound to TWO's ears. "And?"

"And I will always stay within your sight."

"And?"

"And I will immediately answer if you call me." The girl finished with another sigh and a roll of her eyes.

The man slapped his hand proudly onto the teenager's shoulder. "Kid's a star pupil, got it all the first time." Then he moved his hand to the strap of her bag on said shoulder. "But one last thing." He lifted the strap up above her head and placed it onto her other shoulder. "Harder to steal, you as pickpocket should know that."

This was it. "TWOOO, I wanna go with you and Android." The green-haired girl whined and made her best puppy-dog eyes, which usually worked wonders on the men of the Raza. "Pleeeeease."

TWO had to fight against the urge to give in and hoped that Irena wouldn't learn this tactic all too soon. And so far there was nothing to criticize about THREE's new rules for the teenager. Fine, they were kinda strict for a 17 year old, but if you kept in mind that said girl was currently at the prime age for sex-slaves, she didn't mind the overprotective streak. With a smile she cupped FIVE's face. "No, I need you there to make sure he buys all the stuff that is on the list." Her words pacified the teenager somewhat. And it wasn't a lie. Not at all.

"Hey, I'm perfectly capable of going grocery shopping!"

Both females stared at him with a mixture of disbelief and exasperation. "Tell this the two dozen cartons of freeze-dried beef-curry in the storage."

The man simply shrugged. "Those were on sale! Just trying to make the most out of our money here!" He hadn't gotten enough of those free samples at the grocery-mega-store and it had been on sale. Really. Catch was, that even the best taste gets tasteless when you eat the same dish three times a day for an entire week. But he wouldn't give her this satisfaction. If he was lucky there was something else on sale today he liked and he could then rotate the meals for the next weeks. Or months. Most likely months.

"You could buy rice for the curry. Pasta or pure is not authentic." Android said as she approached her friends. "77.5 pounds should be sufficient."

THREE stared at the android in her brown leather jacket, her hair open and her tattoo gone. "You think this outfit is a good idea?"

"You don't like it?" She sounded almost hurt in her usual monotone.

"No, it's great." He observed her smile slightly. "But that's not the point. Are you activating the upgrade?" Her behavior was strange for an android and also for a human. In his opinion this was a great risk, yet he knew, they all did, how much it meant to her to be accepted as who she was.

"No, I want to be myself." She looked into the circle of her friends as FOUR arrived. "But I can activate it if the situation should call for it."

A moment passed by and the last two crewmembers of the Raza eventually found their way to the airlock. The small blond in her wine-red pullover-dress, white socks and her favorite rainbow-colored sneakers with also rainbow-colored light in the soles smiled down from her higher viewpoint in SIX's arms, stretching her little legs out front. "Look Mommy, I tied my shoes all alone!" Each one of them was teaching the little girl something and she was sucking all new information up.

"You did very well." Praised her mother mirroring her smile and lifted the girl into her embrace. She mouthed a 'thank you' towards the ex-cop, who had spent the past half an hour patiently with the girl's attempts at tying her shoes. TWO brushed tenderly a golden strain from her daughter's forehead. "Irena, do you remember what we spoke about yesterday, when you go to the station with THREE and FIVE today?"

The girl nodded. "I won't run off and I will listen to THREE and sis."

"Very well." Her words brought another smile to Irena. "And what do you do when you see pictures of me or one of the others somewhere?"

The small blond lowered her voice. "I will whisper."

"And?" THREE coaxed. They all remembered their last attempt at a shopping tour at a space station very well. That one was a new record even for them. As soon as they had left the gangway from the Raza's airlock and turned into the first crowded corridor of the station, little Irena was enthusiastically pointing her small finger towards a large screen in the back, all of them had overlooked, and screamed 'Look Mommy, there is a picture of you! And FOUR! And THREE! An-' Shortest stop ever. Too bad they already had paid the docking-fee.

"No pointing my finger."

"Good girl."

SIX shared a gaze with the swordsman. "The two of us will accompany you and Android first and also get _something_." Meaning a present for the soon four-year-old from the toystore. "Then we'll see that we can sell the other _something_." Meaning the weapons they got their hands on during their last heist of a freighter smuggling weapons for Ferrous.

This made THREE groan. "Really? You trying to sell that _something_ without me?" He furrowed his brows in an angry display of a manly pout, glaring down at their leader and her daughter. In the first weeks, Irena had been scared by his expressions, which had pained THREE more than he would ever admit, but by now, the girl knew that he wouldn't do anything bad and best action was to ignore him, when he was in one of his moods. "SIX can go with the girls grocery shopping and I take care of the other _something_ with FOUR."

"No."

"What? Why?" His scowl darkened even more. "It can't still be that time when ONE and I were screwed over by Corso."

Sometimes he was harder to handle than a cranky four-year-old not wanting to make her nap. TWO made a step forward and placed her hand onto his chest, grapping his leather-jacket and pulling him down towards her slightly. "SIX and FOUR will do the deal today. You can go next time." He was still grumbling and held her gaze. She hitched her brow, not bulging one bit.

Eventually he narrowed his eyes and growled a 'fine', earning him a short kiss on the lips. Those open displays of their relationship were even after months still rare. She preferred to keep their private-lives a.k.a. their relationship private and behind locked doors although everyone aboard knew that they were an item.

She maneuvered Irena over into his arms and he immediately lifted the girl up unto his shoulders. This one he could at least keep easily from running off. The problem was the older one, who was currently pulling him by the wrist towards the open airlock. "Will you stop it, Kid? I'm coming."

"Let's hurry. I wanna go back later and get also _something_." TWO had offered to also buy some toy for FIVE to give it to Irena as present, but the teenager wanted to pick something herself.

"Alone? Get that outta your green head!" This particular space station was famous to be the most crowded one in three sectors.

X – X – X – X – X

As soon as they were aboard the station with all the lights and ads-displays, Irena was pulling THREE's hair and thus his head in the direction she wanted him to look. "Stop pulling my hair, rugrat!"

"Sorry. Look!" Again her tiny hand wrapped around a big strain of brown hair.

"Irena!" THREE stopped suddenly in his tracks, making other people bump into him, who he shooed away with his frightening glower. Swiftly he pulled the girl from his shoulders and sat her down onto her own two feet, her tiny hand firmly grasped by his large one. When he looked up again, his older charge was already two stores in front of them and still walking further, her gaze pinned to the various shop displays. "Kid!" To his relief her green-haired head turned immediately towards his voice. "Over here! Now!" In this moment he decided that TWO owed him big times.

FIVE fought her way back through the masses of shoppers and tourists. "What? You could still see me." They hadn't left the Raza for ten minutes and both of them were stressed and pissed. The day could only get worse. No way the day would suddenly make an u-turn and be good.

"Fiver, you will take the Little One's other hand and won't let go."

"Seriously?" With a sigh she complied and took Irena's other hand. Usually hanging out with THREE was fun, but the day had already started with briefings worse than when they did an op. And he was still miffed that he couldn't do the weapons-deal. He was such a baby when it came to guns. He behaved like TWO made FOUR and SIX sell his first-born.

Four meters further, at an intersection, with one way leading over a glass-bridge to even more shops, an escalator in the opposite direction to the grocery-mega-store and a fountain with banks straight ahead, all three of them decided to take the way every one of them had in his or her mind. Only problem, everyone wanted in a different direction.

FIVE let go of Irena's hand and moved over the bridge. "That store might have the CO2-converter I'm looking for! I'll be back in a minute!"

In the very same moment, the small blond managed to wiggle her fingers from THREE's hand and away from the direction of the escalator he had been pulling her. The artificial sunlight of the lamps caused the fine spray of the fountain to shimmer in various colors, who had captured the girl completely. Like in trance she moved towards the rainbows and wanted to climb into the water to be at the rainbow's origin. Maybe there really was a pot full of gold like in the story her mom had been reading to her.

Just when Irena had reached the pond and was pulling herself up the edge, strong hands grabbed her firmly around the waist and pulled her back down and away from the water. "Nooooo!" she screeched with tears in her eyes.

"Sir, would you please put the child down."

"Buddy, I won-" THREE turned around in time to see a GA officer stare at him, his hand on the holster of his stun-gun. He immediately froze. Seconds ticked by in which he feared the cavalry would arrive, but instead the cop looked at Irena, who he had sat down.

"Where are your parents, sweetie?"

The blond stared at the stranger tearfully and inched closer to THREE's leg in order to hide behind it. In this moment THREE figured that the officer didn't identify him as top ten most wanted criminal Marcus Boone, but only thought he was kidnapping a little girl in the mall of an overrun space station. Which he wasn't. Although his GA file suggested otherwise.

There was still hope to get out of this situation without prison as his next destination. "Her mom's shopping and I'm supposed to go with her and her sister, who also just ran off by the way, grocery shopping." The cop stared at him unconvinced. "You don't have kids, do you?" By the man's expression he concluded 'no' was the answer. "Take my advice, don't." THREE craned his neck to get a sight of his other charge. In front of a tech-shop window – where else – did he spot a familiar green head. "If you don't mind, I wanna collect the other one of my girls."

Before the officer had decided what he should do, THREE had picked Irena up and was crossing the glass-bridge with large strides. "Kid!"

FIVE turned around on the pissed voice of her friend and her eyes widened in fear at the sight. "There's a cop right behind you."

THREE bristled with anger. "I know, and when you don't get your butt over to me now and stay with me, then this nice officer will take you to a holding cell where I can pick you up when I'm done shopping!"

The GA officer scrutinized the teenage-girl, whose fear seemed to be suddenly evaporated and exchanged with utter confusion. "He's your dad?"

Still puzzled about the situation and that neither she nor THREE were in handcuffs by now, FIVE faced the cop with a tentative nod and closed the distance to her friends. "Ummm… Yes." She somehow managed to not let the last word sound like a question.

By now, THREE deemed the situation under control, good thing the Kid was taking on quickly. He crouched down in front of Irena and fixed her with one of his fearsome glares, yet she didn't seem to be intimidated in the least. "Why in the galaxy did you want to climb into the fountain, Irena?"

"Pot of gold?" THREE, FIVE and the man in the uniform were staring at her funnily. Didn't they know? "Mommy read me a story about a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow." She said with a bright smile and pointed at the fountain and the artificial rainbow there.

"She did?!" He really needed to have a word with TWO about this. "There is no pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!"

"But Mom-"

"No. Gold. It's a story. Not real." Just a stupid story. If he had been a moment slower… "You could have drowned, Irena!" This made FIVE grasp the situation. Guiltily she took the smaller girl's hand tightly. THREE went on with his tantrum, by now a small crowd had gathered around them. "What is wrong with you?!" He knew he pulled the cliché troubled-parents-card, but at the moment he couldn't care less and he really meant every word. "When you two can't behave and stay with me, I'll bring you back home and I'll do the shopping alone."

"Sorry. We won't run off again." FIVE said and was still shocked that Irena could have drowned just because she'd let go of her hand in the belief THREE had her other hand.

Working for years on this space station, scenes like these of overstrained parents were part of his daily work. "I think you have the situation under control, sir." The officer left the scene on THREE's nod.

THREE took each girl by the hand, him being in the middle, and lead them back towards the escalator and their goal. On FIVE's attempt of voicing resistance, he shot her a glare that shut her up immediately.

He was worried and pissed and this was a bad combination to get under his skin. Pissed was worse enough, but worried was 100 times worse, especially because he was unaccustomed to experience this particular emotion and thus reacted with more anger.

As he was pulling the girls with him, his gaze fell onto a mother with her son, maybe two or three years old, and the plastic leash she was holding him. Without warning THREE changed his destination and stalked after the two. "Wait!"

The woman turned her head to face the grumpy and fearsome looking man and the two upset girls he pulled behind himself. "Do you mean me?"

"Yep." With a glare at the teenager he let go of her hand and pointed onto the blue half transparent leash going from the woman's wrist to the wrist of her tiny son, the line already stretched tightly, but the boy was not able to make a further step as hard as he tried. Perfect. "Where did you get this kids-chain?"

The woman watched the teenager make a step to the side, but her father, she assumed, immediately took her by the upper arm and pulled her back towards him while the much younger girl tried to pull him towards the fountain. Yes, he needed one of those. "In almost all toy stores." She pointed onto the large store ahead. "I'm sure you'll find it over there."

The man's dark scowl immediately lightened up. "Thanks."

X – X – X – X – X

End of the first chapter!

A/N: Feedback is appreciated! Shall I continue?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Dark Matter belongs to Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie. Not making money here.

Big thanks to Raza Forever and Guest for the reviews! Guest: I just finished DTB When the Stars Vanished, Black Dust is also on my writing list.

X - X - X - X

Chapter 2

Two gigantic stuffed teddy-bears greeted them at the entrance of the toy-store, literarily. THREE figured that they were androids of some kind. He already hated them. He felt a pull on his hand and pinned Irena with a very resolved glare. "No, we won't take a tour through this shop. We get the leash and then go grocery shopping."

"But-"

"No buts." He pulled both girls towards the next salesclerk, hoping it wasn't an android, but a real human, or at least an android running the upgrade, so he wouldn't know it was an android.

"But-"

"Irena!" She was pulling his hand again but he ignored her and tried one of his pick-up charming smiles at the red-head. "Miss?"

"How may I help you, sir?" The woman in her early twenties asked.

Irena pulled again at THREE's hand, this time resolved that he would listen to her.

With a sigh he faced the small blond. "What?"

"I need to pee."

"Damnit."

"Bad word!" Irena scolded.

With another sigh, THREE faced the salesclerk again. "Do you have a restroom the Little One could use?"

The woman looked somewhat uncomfortable. "Only customers may use the restrooms. I'm sorry, sir, but you have to buy something." With an afterthought she added. "Corporate rules."

"Yeah right." _'Freaking rules!'_ "Do you have those leashes for children?"

"You mean leashes for the robo-dog Bow-Wow?"

"No, I mean leashes for kids, so you can take your kid for a walk without worrying said kid tries to drown herself in the fountain in front of your store while you look for the older kid, you really thought would be old enough to not run off on her own." This earned him a dirty look from FIVE.

"Oh those. You'll find those in the department for babies and toddlers over there."

"Bought. Where are the toilets?" He moved the by now very uncomfortable from one leg to the other jumping Irena towards the teenager. "You'll help her and when you are done, you'll come over there right away. I'll have a look at the door, Kid." Luckily the toilets were located exactly across the baby-department. He watched her roll her eyes. "When you are at it, go, too."

"I don't have to."

"Fine, but when you have to go in ten minutes, then it's your problem, Kid." He watched them go and enter the door, then made his way over to the racks full of rattles, chewing rings and building blocks. Differently than other kind of stores, this one had of every merchandise one exemplar unpacked for inspection and play. Surely hell for parents. He really had to make this stop quick before Irena could set her eyes onto the funnily barking and meowing artificial pets or the laser show, the holographic VR-games for older children made. Or the hover-broom for quidditch, for even older kids. Maybe he should blindfold the Little One.

At the end of the second shelf he eventually found what he was looking for and picked the somewhat elastic and spiraled up bright pink leash up. Next to the price-tag a holographic description of the item popped up. "Nano-carbon enhanced plastic fiber. Holds the weight of up to 300 kg or 660 lbs. 2.5 meters maximal length." He wiped the description to the side and got the color selection. "Perfect." The Little One would surely want to get the bright neon pink one, but no way in hell he was wearing that. She would have to live with red. He then also typed on the yellow symbol. Better safe than sorry. If this was working the way he wanted, then he could use it till Irena was at FIVE's age. This thought caused him to type onto the green and blue icons as well. You never knew for what you could use something lifting 660 lbs.

His order slid from a small slide directly into a shopping basket, he then lifted up. In that moment the restroom door opened and his two charges came out, but FIVE made the critical error of not taking the younger girl by the hand. Within one heartbeat the blond was already in the next department and slid eagerly through the holographic pictures of available puzzles. _'Stupid intuitive system.'_

FIVE grinned at the dumbfounded expression of her friend. "You didn't honestly believe to get out of this store easily with an almost four-year-old?" The teenager began to look around as well. "I'll be over there and maybe find a birthday-present for Irena while we are here."

"I swear. Stay within my sight, Kid." But looking now for a birthday-present wasn't a bad idea. And even easier with the birthday-girl present. He would simply take the one she whined the most when he said 'no'. When she came after her mom, the one he was sleeping with, the girl would go for the robotic dog. If she came after her other mom, then she would most likely also go for the robotic dog. Or robotic cat. Or that freaky child-android, whose body you could upgrade every two years so it would grow with your kid. No way. He had to keep her away from that department. He looked onto the holographic map of the store. The classic-section was running parallel with the artificial friend department and led directly to the check-out counters. "Perfect."

Only problem was the technic-loving older girl. When he looked up from the map, Irena was still looking at the 2000 parts puzzles and happily putting them onto the virtual wish-list. _'Great…'_ Then he looked over where he last saw FIVE and took a deep breath. Before he would scream through the entire store, he tabbed his comm. "FIVE, you have three seconds to come into my sight." He pressed out through gritted teeth.

"I'm here!" rang her voice from his other side and her green-haired head poked forth next to another shelf. "My leg was the entire time within your field of vision." She tabbed her boot onto the floor to make her point and drew her head back behind the shelf once again, only her foot was left to see.

"Smartass." From the corner of his eyes he kept that boot in sight while he centered his attention onto the younger girl. "Choose one."

"But."

"One or none." He hitched his brows. "Hey, that rhymed."

"This one." She enlarged another one. "Emm, no, this one." Another picture. "Or…"

With a roll of his eyes he sighed heavily. "And I thought your mom was taking long to contemplate options." He watched her another two minutes until he decided to take the one of a wolf in the snow, which brought almost tears to Irena's brown eyes. "Which one then?"

"This one." She eventually said and he pressed the button to get the item from the storage via another slide, before the girl could change her mind again. Proudly Irena picked her loot up and held the large carton pressed to her chest as she hurried over to where FIVE stood – or at least her boot. "Sis, look!"

The teenager smiled at the blond. "That's beautiful, Irena." Her gaze travelled over to THREE. "It's 2000 parts. Too hard for a four-year-old." She hissed, while Irena was already at another shelf, pulling a mini-hover-car out.

"You like to put things in parts together, Kid. You can help her."

"What?" She stared at the carton next to Irena on the floor – the girl already had the remote figured out and had the car hovering in front of her. Maybe doing a puzzle would be fun.

"Not too high, Little One." THREE chided and already pressed on the button for the car to be send down the slide. He lifted the puzzle from the floor and held it and the car in front of FIVE for her to choose, which one she would use as a present. The teenager pointed at the puzzle.

"When I have to help her anyway. And besides, it's kinda cute." The girl liked the scenery of a beach and beneath the colorful riff with countless fishes and dolphins. FIVE pressed a button and activated the slide again.

Curious, the gun-loving man picked the book up and read its title. "Little Women?" He hitched a brow at her. He had thought her to stick her nose into digital copies of FTL- and technical books, not something like this. And not in the actually printed version.

FIVE took the book from him and smiled a little. "When I was in your memories, you started to read this book and I always wanted to know how it ends." He stared at her, then at the book-title and back at her. "Your mom gave it to you. It was her favorite book. I think you read it to make her happy." A grin plastered its way onto her face as he kept staring at her. "You know, you liked Charlotte's Web the best as a boy."

This made him frown. "So the book on the ship. It really is mine?"

"Most likely." With a shrug she nodded. "Titch read Charlotte's Web a few times. Although you tended to skip chapters and only re-read the ones you liked the best."

X – X – X – X

About an hour later they had finally reached the checkout counters. From all the toys Irena had showed interest in – and that were almost all – they had taken aside from the puzzle and the hover-car, a drawing set with all possible colors, also glitter ones, an animal-painting-book, a stuffed bunny and a big hamster that would follow you around. Or was it a guinea pig? Good thing their last heist had been a good one and that they still had a crate full of pulse-rifles, the other two hopefully already have sold.

THREE gave the teenager her book, the puzzle and the hamster and pinned her with his blue eyes. "Don't say you don't have money on you. Because if I have to loan you then with 10% interest."

With a sight FIVE bent down and fished a blue card from her boot and placed it on the counter to pay. "Can you please wrap them as gifts? All except the book."

"Surely. If you take the digital version of the book, you can read it in more than 50 different languages." The salesclerk pointed out.

"As far as I know, I only speak English… And a few chunks Japanese." FIVE muttered baffled. "I want the book book."

While the teenager's order was wrapped, THREE eyed the stuff hanging from the small shelves next to the counter. One object had caught his interest. _'I hope the Little One has good lungs.'_ He took it into the shopping basket and tabbed his comm with a grin. "TWO, you don't need candles. I got special ones."

'_Special candles…' _Their leader furrowed her forehead in worry. "I hope those don't explode."

"Nah, but that's a great idea for SIX or FOUR's birthdays." His grin widened. "When do they have?" But instead of an answer the communication was cancelled. _'Spoilsport.'_ He would find out eventually. Even if it meant to call Anders and Teku.

After he had also paid, THREE opened the packages of the red and green leashes. The two salesclerks looked strangely and somewhat alarmed, when he unbuckled his belt to pull the leather through one end of the two leashes before closing the clasp again. Then he took the other end of the red line and grasped Irena's hand, the girl still occupied with the funny curling bows on her presents. Before she could react, the click-clasp went shut around her small wrist – adapting immediately to the girl's body.

"Huh?" Irena looked startled and pulled her arm to her body, making the spiral stretch. With a large frown she went backwards, almost bumping into another family, who pulled their children out of her way. The tether stretched and stretched until eventually the 2.5 meters were reached and the girl stared at him with the exact same expression her mother wore every time he did something she thought stupid.

While Irena was pulling with all her might and moved in a half-circle around THREE, he had the other end of the transparent green leash ready and used the moment FIVE was occupied with watching the younger girl amused. The teenager's amusement was gone immediately as she felt the nano-carbon enhanced plastic tighten around her wrist to sit on her skin like TWO's black leather pants usually sat on her body. "What?!" Her outraged glower dug into the man before her. "You can't be serious!" Unfortunately she knew he was. "That's for toddlers!" He ignored her and picked the two bags of their combined loot up and began to move towards the exit with the two teddy-bears waiting to tell them their farewell. "THREEEEE!"

He tossed the wrappings into the matter-recycler and turned his head to the two sulking girls on the other ends of the chains, which already were stretched to their limit, pulling the blond after him by now. _'Perfect.'_ "Will you two move your butts or do I need to haul both of you off?"

"This is so embarrassing." FIVE whispered at the stares of the other customers and shop-staff. She moved after her jailor, but then got an idea and bent down to Irena. "You know there are a lot of funny toys in the shopping window outside."

The blond looked up from her inspection of the kids-handcuff on her left hand. "Really?"

The teenager mustered a smile and nodded. "Yes. The best stuff is there!" And off Irena was, running past her mother's boyfriend and out the shop, bending the corner at once to move past the large windows outside. Had she been also this easily distracted at that age? She closed the distance to THREE and as soon as they had left the store and Irena's leash was stretched to THREE's right, she quickened her steps towards the glass-bridge once again, stretching her leash on THREE's left and causing several passer-byes to stare dumbfounded at the strange obstacle in their way.

When THREE was about to go after Irena to pick the little girl up, he felt an immense pull on his other side. As he looked FIVE's way, his eyes widened at the sinister smirk on her face and the fact that she had escaped from the handcuff and held her end in her hand. "I warn you, Kid!" But it was too late and with a twitch of her lips, she let go. The line snatched back and rolled up to the spiral it usually was. THREE braced for the impact and turned in time to protect his manhood. A yelp escaped his gritted teeth as the leash connected hard with his thigh. Cursing colorfully, he rubbed his sore body and watched the teenager point onto the tech-shop, then she waved smiling and turned on her heel to walk towards said shop. "Brat!"

After he had recovered and retrieved Irena, who was currently unhappily hanging down from under his arm as he carried her in a tight grip, he approached the shop, the teenager was already in and brokering prices for some shit she needed. He was seething. While he waited with gritting teeth to give the girl an earful, his eyes fell onto a shelf full of old-fashioned mechanical locks. A smirk crept onto his features as he fetched a 3-number-lock and placed it onto the counter next to the device the girl was about to buy. "This one for free on top!" THREE growled, his intimidating glare back in place.

When the girl had paid and stuffed the item into her bag, she felt him hold her hand in a hard grip while he placed the end of the green titer around her wrist again. "Let go!" FIVE struggled and tried to throat-punch him, but he evaded her attack.

"Let the girl go! Now!" The elderly man behind the counter said, but his courage was fleeting at the gruesome glare he received.

"I'm her dad." THREE lied again. Why not keeping to that story? After all it had worked well enough for the cop.

"Hell you are!" FIVE shouted aggravated and tried to struggle free.

"I'll call for the GA now!" The shop-owner was already pressing a button beyond his counter.

Both turned in unison towards the man. "Don't!" The number-lock clicked in place at the leash-clasp, but FIVE didn't care less as she and THREE took each one of Irena's tiny hands and pulled the blond after them out of the shop. Only to be met with a by now familiar face of a GA officer. "Hey there! I'm still not kidnapping my own kids!" The cop eyed the colorful tethers suspiciously that connected the three. THREE lifted the green plastic chain up a bit. "Believe me, if their mom finds out that I walk them around on leashes for toddlers, and she will, I can't bribe them enough to not tell, then I will have to look after my own pleasure for the next few months." He ignored FIVE's 'ewww' and looked pleadingly at the officer. "Take my advice, one is more than enough trouble."

"Hey!" Both girls scowled up at him.

Actually, he didn't think that TWO would give him a sex-ban at all, or not more than maybe a few days at most. She most likely would make that half amused, half perturbed expression of hers, which he actually thought really cute, and decide to ignore them as long as both girls were safe and sound back on board the Raza.

"How long do you intent to stay on this station?"

Hoping he could talk his way out of this situation again, THREE kept on ranting. "If it would go after me, I would haul those two back to our ship now and leave immediately, but their mom ordered me to get the groceries done, together with them, while she's shopping for the Little One's birthday the day after tomorrow. Believe me, if that day won't be perfect with food and cake and stuff, I'll most likely house in the ship's airlock for the rest of the year." While he was exaggerating a bit at the part with the airlock – but only a tiny bit - and lied at the part that he should get the cake – this was too important to not be done by TWO herself – he was sure that if Irena's birthday wouldn't be perfect, then all hell would be loose on the Raza.

The officer eyed the three and then glared with all the authority he could muster down onto the two girls. "You two will listen to your father now. If you make trouble again, I'll take you two to the holding cells where your mom can pick you up." He narrowed his eyes. "You got that?" Both nodded and he turned and walked away.

"Thank you!" THREE called after him and let out the breath he had been holding. When the man was out of earshot he whispered to the older girl. "You'll stay with me now and also have a look out for Irena. Imagine when TWO has to pick you two up from a GA station. Not to mention the lockdown when they scan you and get Emily Kolburn as identification."

"Aside from the fact that they can't make a public call for TWO, since she wouldn't react to any made-up name and her real name would cause a lockdown, too." FIVE wrinkled her forehead in thought. "Maybe Rebecca Lin would work."

"Not gonna find that one out, Kid." He nudged her to move back over the bridge. THREE had Irena firmly by the hand and FIVE was walking very closely next to him, so the leash was almost completely rolled up between them and thus hardly to be seen next to the shopping bags, he carried. They past the fateful fountain and he tightened his hold onto the little one even more, while he observed the older one completely absorbed in the number-lock on her wrist. She was rolling the numbers into different combinations in the hope to open it. THREE smirked. This should take her a while.

Finally they reached the escalators, he hadn't believed that this could actually happen, and saw that the teenager was about to stumble, not looking where she was going. "Stairs, Kid." In the last second she lifted her head and put her feet onto the moving stairs. A few seconds later they reached the next floor and THREE watched with a frown that the tech-wiz was actually stumbling this time when she didn't see the end of the escalator. Luckily he grabbed her quickly by the upper-arm and steadied her. "Watch where you go, Kid." When she was solving some riddle, she was always too absorbed to register what was going on around her.

"Thanks, THREE." And back she was at rotating the small numbers.

"Lamppost." Warned the man with a frown and felt a pull on his right hand. He gazed down at the blond.

"I need to pee."

"Again?" A nod. "You were like an hour ago!" Exasperated he glanced down on the girl, who simply shrugged. With a sigh he looked around and saw next to the grocery entrance an ice café. Those had toilets. And all this excitement got him hungry anyway. "This way, girls."

Wordlessly he opened his belt, retrieved both leashes and handed both ends to FIVE, who then lead Irena towards the back of the café. While both girls were gone, he ordered two sundaes, one triple-chocolate and one small one with raspberry and blueberry, and waffles with whipped cream for himself, beverages for all three and sat down at a table near the restrooms, but not too close.

A few minutes later, his order had just arrived, the door to the toilets opened and his two girls emerged and went straight for the entrance to look for him. "Over here." He called with his fork lifted and waved them over to him. For a tiny moment both girls stared at him baffled, but then they registered what else stood on the table.

"Iccccccceee!" Irena screamed excitedly and crawled onto the chair next to THREE, who slid a bowl with a pink and a lavender colored scoop and lots of whipping cream and colorful sprinkles towards her. Her brown eyes began to gleam in joy and one of her large sunshine-smiles plastered her lips. She picked the spoon up and took a big heap of the pink scoop, licking on the cold substance. "Raspberry!" Her smile sparkled even more if that was even possible.

With a large smile of his own, he watched FIVE slide into the chair across from him and dig into her sundae, her bright and blinding smile on her lips. "You're the best!" She tentatively tasted a spoonful of the white scoop and swallowed in awe. "White chocolate!" She took another one. "Thank you!"

"Thank you!" echoed the smaller girl, who had already whipping cream on the tip of her nose.

Those bright smiles evaporated his own negative mood in a blink of an eye. He doubt his former self would have taken joy at the sight of those girls' happiness. Maybe Boone would have bought the Little One a scoop to have an easier play to get into her mother's panties. But not to make the girl happy. And Portia most likely would have seen through his act and he wouldn't have gotten his way. Aside from the fact that Portia would have never left her precious little daughter in the care of one of her crewmates to begin with.

After they had finished, THREE sent the girls to the restroom once again. Better safe than sorry. At their return, he waited at the café's entrance and held his hand out. With a smirk, the teenager handed him Irena's leash's red end and her entire green leash including the now open number-lock. "Seriously, Kid?" With a sigh he attached both tethers to his belt and looked around in the search for another tech store. At the end of the shopping mile across from them was what he was looking for and this time he got a 4-numbers-lock. And took five of them. All possible to be reprogrammed several times. This should keep her busy.

They held a small staring contest, but FIVE eventually gave in, the chocolate and ice cream had pacified her somewhat. First thing she did, was inspecting the new lock and started her work while Irena walked next to her, puttering around with the smaller and now useless lock, while THREE lead the way back to the giant grocery store.

X – X – X – X

In front of a second, even bigger toy-store one floor up the rest of the Raza crew stood and spoke about what else was to do, when…

"What the… No, this can't be." SIX muttered as he had already lost sight of what he had thought was the rest of his family.

"What do you mean?" asked FOUR.

The big man still frowned startled. "I'm not sure, but I think I just saw THREE pulling both girls behind himself on what looked like colorful leashes."

TWO leaned over the wall and looked down to the floor beneath and the stores and people there. No green head to see. "You sure it was them?"

"Ehmm… there was a green-haired girl and a little blond and as I said a man that did look like THREE."

Android also peered down and blinked once, processing the information. "Sounds interesting. And like something THREE would do."

"But why?" The ex-cop frowned bewildered.

"Was there ever a reason to the stuff THREE does?"

"I don't wanna know." TWO decided and took the bags with toys from the two men. "Anyway. Android and I will get the stuff for the cake and you get the other stuff sold."

X – X – X – X

A/N: Reviews are most welcome and keep me writing!


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